Speaker Johnson calls federal response to Helene ‘a massive failure’

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called the federal response to Hurricane Helene a “massive failure” and pointed to the hundreds of people still missing.

“At the federal level, this has been a massive failure. And you can just ask the people there on the ground. I have been there. I was in Georgia. I was in Florida, where Hurricane Helene made landfall, there on the coast. And then we’ll be going to the hardest hit parts of North Carolina on Wednesday of this week,” Johnson told Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.”

Johnson said the federal government had advance notice of the hurricane and should have been better equipped to respond.

“When you talk to the people who are directly affected, they will tell you this has been an abject failure. FEMA has lost sight of its core mission, I think, in so many cases, and the administration has not shown that they were prepared for this, this eventuality, and this terrible disaster.

“They had more than a week’s notice of this, and yet we still have people who have not been served and even rescued,” Johnson added. “In North Carolina, it is a heartbreaking, tragic and infuriating situation to have the federal government fail, as they have well.”

The remarks come as Republicans have sharpened their attacks on the federal response to Hurricane Helene, just one month ahead of Election Day.

The federal government and other local and federal officials have fought back against claims that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is inept.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said recently that he was impressed with the federal response, noting North Carolina’s impact was not expected to be as severe as it was.

“For anybody who thinks that any level of government, anybody here, could have been prepared precisely for what we’re dealing with here, clearly are clueless,” Tillis said. “But right now, I’m out here to say that we’re doing a good job.”

The federal government has also sought to dispel rumors about the lack of federal funding available to residents affected by the national disaster.

FEMA has set up a designated “rumor response page” to fight misinformation and inform residents of available funding.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates responded to Johnson’s criticism by pointing to “a wide range of leaders in both parties and from every affected state” who “have praised the bipartisan response to Hurricane Helene.”

Bates pointed to Tillis’s remarks, as well as to comments made by other GOP officials, including South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who called the federal response “superb,” and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who said he “appreciated” Biden’s offer to “call him directly” if the governor needed further assistance. 

Bates also quoted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who said, “This is an incredible experience for me. So, to President Biden, thank you for coming. Thank you for paying attention to our needs. We have had a good working relationship between the federal government.”

Story updated at 1:05 EDT